Being the nurse in the family
Define your role when a family member is ill, and then apply that experience in your practice. Takeaways: Most nurses experience being the “nurse in the family” when a loved one is ill, which can be a struggle and an…
Preventing falls in hospitalized patients
Fall prevention “bundles” applied to all patients are ineffective; fall prevention interventions must be tailored to each individual patient’s fall risk factors.
What’s the best diet for healthy sleep? A nutritional epidemiologist explains what food choices will help you get more restful z’s
You probably already know that how you eat before bed affects your sleep. Maybe you’ve found yourself still lying awake at 2 a.m. after enjoying a cup of coffee with dessert. But did you know that your eating choices throughout…
Acute myeloid leukemia in older patients: 6 questions asked and answered
ASH guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations. While an average 75-year-old in the United States can expect to live another dozen years, life expectancy for those with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) often is measured in months, according to American Society of Hematology…
Myocarditis and COVID-19
In a COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination world, nurses should raise their clinical suspicion for myocarditis when healthy, young, or athletic patients present with fatigue, palpitations, and chest pain. Understanding the basic mechanisms underlying myocardial injury from COVID-19 and who’s at…
Sense of loss
In third grade I asked my Dad whether we would be thrown out of our home and into the street. My Dad, a chemistry, physics, biology, and math teacher and a track coach, explained our finances to me. At the…
A new generation of nurses is here
Strategies for working with Generation Z. Takeaways: Generation Z nurses, born between the mid-1990s and 2012, are now entering the workforce and they bring with them distinct generational characteristics that will impact the nursing workforce and healthcare for years to…
Why I go to the office
In these waning days of the pandemic, one of the hottest discussions is whether office workers should physically go back to the office and end the work-from-home alternative. Great arguments are offered from both sides of the divide. Those who…
My old stethoscope
My stethoscope lay curled in the bottom of my bathroom drawer with other nursing tools—penlights, watches with second hands, and old badges and lanyards. I hadn’t touched my stethoscope in a while because I’d spent the last several years in…
Reimagining flu vaccine clinics
A primary care network innovates during a global pandemic. Takeaways: Within a large regional network of primary care offices, an interdisciplinary team of nurses and physicians collaborated to build a “Flu Hub” system to provide an alternative means of vaccinating…
Year of the Nurse 2020
Advancing professional innovation. (more…)
Stroke: Act FAST
The FAST acronym (Face, Arm, Speech, Time to call 911) are critical to recognizing signs of stroke and ensuring quick treatment. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) stroke scale, which provides a numeric score based on assessment results.
Summertime… and the patient is uneasy?
A nurse ponders the “July Effect.” American Nurse Journal values your feedback! Follow this link to answer a few short questions about this article: what you learned, how it can apply to your practice, and what you’d like to see in…
BA.2 Omicron variant now in more than half of U.S. states
WHO continuing to monitor, says BA.2 “not a variant of concern” yet The latest COVID-19 variant is now beginning to exhibit variants of its own – but the effects are still largely unknown. Omicron variant BA.2 is now reported in…
Reducing readmissions in stroke patients
Stroke readmissions are multifaceted and complex. In addition to recognizing risk factors for recurrent stroke, nurses should focus on impacting potentially preventable readmission complications such as medication adherence issues, post-discharge infection, and other readmission etiologies.
Video surveillance and nursing workforce safety
This strategy can benefit both nurses and patients. Takeaways: Patient-engaged video surveillance is a reliable method to accurately determine the incidence of patient aggression and violence on the nursing workforce for those under surveillance. Trained monitor technicians, who work 24-hours…
What are your shift pain points?
Staffing—it’s complicated. As a frontline nurse, you acutely feel the pain when plans to adequately staff units go awry. As a nurse leader, you are constantly challenged by the impact of limited resources, in search of a staffing strategy to…
COVID-19 and palliative care
Primary care symptom management can enhance quality of life and prevent hospitalization. Takeaways: Early identification and reporting of symptomatic COVID-19 patients in the primary care setting can improve outcomes. Initiating prompt symptom management or palliative interventions can reduce symptom exacerbation,…
Welcome to the Year of the Nurse
A time to recognize and highlight our impact Happy 2020! It’s the start of another year, and maybe you’ve already made a few resolutions. But even if you’ve decided to take a pass on resolutions this year, I’d like you…
Choosing the right NP education
Takeaways: Choosing the right NP specialty can be difficult decision for the RN ready to move forward with education and career goals. Knowing educational options for selecting the right degree and the right type of program when choosing to become…